Pak Army chief vows to eliminate militants

Addressing a group of tribal elders at Khar, General Kayani promised that the military operation would continue till the “complete elimination of militants from the Bajaur Agency, reports Kamal Siddiqi.

Two days after Pakistan PM’s Advisor on Interior, Rehman Malik, said that the Battle for Bajur was a ‘Battle for Pakistan’, Pakistan’s army chief indicated that the army was meeting with success in its operation.

Addressing a group of tribal elders at Khar, the headquarters of restive Bajaur Agency, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani promised that the military operation would continue till the “complete elimination of militants from the Bajaur Agency.”

Meanwhile, 15 militants were killed and over a dozen injured in overnight clashes in Khar, Bajur’s main town.

Earlier, Kayani told a group of tribal elders that the support being extended by tribesmen against the militants had given an impetus to the operation and boosted the morale and courage of the security forces in the agency. “The people of the tribal areas have been rendering great sacrifices for the defence of the country. They had always worked shoulder-to-shoulder with the Pakistan Army in the most turbulent and challenging situations,” he said.

Afghan warlord claims French ambush

Afghan insurgent leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has claimed responsibility in a video message for an August ambush that killed 10 French soldiers, an Afghan news agency reported.